Utilisation of fingerprint analysis for human identification at SRM/OFPI

Eromosele, Rachael

Utilisation of fingerprint analysis for human identification at SRM/OFPI

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Pathology

Faculty

Faculty of Health Sciences

Abstract

The identification of human decedents is a critical aspect of medico-legal investigation. However, many bodies remain unidentified, with South Africa reporting high numbers each year. Fingerprint analysis is a valuable identification method, though the success rate of using fingerprints for identification at Salt River Mortuary in Cape Town, South Africa, is unclear. This research investigated the frequency and success rate of fingerprints used for identification at this forensic mortuary in 2021. Medico-legal case reports of all cases admitted in 2021 were reviewed (n = 3738) and non-viable foetuses (n = 26) were excluded, resulting in a total of 3712 cases. At admission, 76.6 % had a suspected identity and 23.4 % were unknown. Seven days after admission, 16.1 % (n = 599 / 3712) had not yet been visually identified, but only 2.5 % (n = 15 / 599) had fingerprints taken for analyses. Thirty days post-admission, 7.4 % (n = 273 / 3712) of the total caseload was still unidentified. Total cases with fingerprint analysis requests at all time points in 2021 were 143, with 89.2 % (n = 115 / 129) of the cases having a successful identification outcome. A median of 7 days (Std.dev = 61 days) was taken to request a fingerprint analysis, while it took a further 30 days (median) (Std.dev = 120 days) to obtain a report. Overall, 141 cases from 2021 remained unidentified at the time of this study, with 19 of these cases having 'suitable fingers' but no fingerprint analysis request. Given the affordability and high success rates of identification associated with fingerprint analyses, investigating officers are urged to take fingerprints from more bodies that are not identified. The unsuccessful attempts were due to no matching records on the searched databases, suggesting that a transnational approach is needed to improve identification rates

Keywords

medico-legal investigation

Reference:

Collections

Masters

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